To Kill A King

To Kill a King

To Kill A King - Average, Based on 3 Critics

The Guardian - 60Based on rating 3/5

60

To Kill a King haven’t chosen their name with the internet generation in mind: Googling it also throws up plenty of results for a US hardcore band and the 2003 Tim Roth film about Oliver Cromwell. Still, they’ve done things right. They play orchestrated folk music, with the kind of exuberant choruses that raise hands in the air. Known for intense live performances, they’ve taken the same energy into the studio.

To Kill a King are in a precarious position as they approach their second album. You see, they’ve gone from Bastille collaborators earlier in their career to being forgotten about as their friend went about hitting drums on the front of increasingly large stages across the world. What is it that makes one so popular while the other remains relatively unknown? The first album Cannibals with Cutlery was a lovely mix of fresh new ideas with the sort of stadium indie that Bastile, Mumford & Sons and Imagine Dragons are milking to such success.

Now two albums into their career, To Kill A King have sat on the cusp of the mainstream since they mustered a fair bit of hype for their early EPs. Sadly, they don’t quite manage to rise to the next level on a patchy second effort that suffers from poor musical choices, yet at times ably showcases the group’s underlying potential. "Compare Scars" offers a promising start.